Rochdale’s first league match outside the English Football League for 102 years ended in an unceremonious 1-0 home defeat to Ebbsfleet.Luke O’Neill’s brilliant strike in the first half was enough for Fleet to take the points in the National League opener at Spotland.The full-back met Toby Edser’s corner with an audacious near-post flick that sailed into the far corner.Roc...Full Story »

Rangers’ cinch Premiership title challenge suffered the earliest of blows with a shock 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock in the opening day of the season.Michael Beale’s disjointed side had laboured in the first half at Rugby Park and there was no improvement after the break before they were stunned by Brad Lyons’ counter after 65 minutes.The 26-year-old Northern Irishman pounced inside...Full Story »

Charlton manager Dean Holden felt his side deserved their 1-0 opening-day League One victory over Leyton Orient.The game at the rainy Valley was settled by a first-half strike from captain George Dobson.Holden was pleased his outfit put in a performance in front of a bumper home crowd and believed his side could have scored more.He said “There’s a lot of expectation of supporters tur...Full Story »

Morecambe boss Derek Adams labelled his new-look side “fantastic” after they sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Walsall at the Mazuma Stadium.Adams saw Farrend Rawson earn his side the three points with a close-range finish in the 92nd minute following first-half goals from Adam Mayor and Danny Johnson.Adams, who handed out five debuts after being forced to release many of his first-...Full Story »

Reading manager Ruben Selles defended a section of the club’s fans for staging a sit-in protest after the 1-0 League One defeat at home to Peterborough.About 200 supporters protested loudly yet peacefully, calling for the removal of club owner Dai Yongge for 40 minutes after a losing start to life in the third tier.The Royals, who are under another transfer embargo, were beaten by a 43rd-m...Full Story »

Notts County boss Luke Williams branded his 10-man side’s performance “weak” and “pathetic” after their humbling League Two return ended 5-1 at Sutton.Goalkeeper Aidan Stone was sent off after just 15 minutes at Gander Green Lane.But Williams insisted that was no excuse for his team’s disappointing display.Joe Kizzi opened the scoring for the hosts inside two ...Full Story »

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson lamented his team’s wasteful finishing after they began the cinch Premiership season with a hard-fought goalless draw at Livingston.There was a distinct dearth of goalmouth action in both boxes, with the Dons unable to register a single shot on target.Duk lacked composure in both halves as he failed to test Lions goalkeeper Shamal George from promising positio...Full Story »

Tony Docherty insisted Dundee deserved to take all three points from a 1-1 cinch Premiership draw against Motherwell at Dens Park.The newly-promoted Dark Blues had to settle for a share of the spoils against the Steelmen on their return to the Scottish top flight.Motherwell debutant Theo Bair opened the scoring with a fine finish on the stroke of half-time with Lyall Cameron securing a draw for ...Full Story »

Stevenage manager Steve Evans felt his side were good value for all three points after they started the new Sky Bet League One season by beating Northampton 1-0.Boro’s first ever win at Sixfields came courtesy of Carl Piergianni’s 81st-minute close-range finish as Stevenage edged a tight game between two teams who are newly promoted into the division.A total of 22 minutes of stoppage...Full Story »

Alex Neil praised his “exciting” Stoke side as they demolished 10-man Rotherham with a 4-1 Championship win.Maritimo recruit Andre Vidigal was the highlight of the Potters’ six debutants as he capped an impressive display with a brace.“I thought we looked like an exciting team,” Neil said. “We wanted to start the season well because there’s been a lot of...Full Story »

Jack Iredale’s first ever Bolton goal in Wanderers’ 3-0 Sky Bet League One win over Lincoln was a touch of deja vu for manager Ian Evatt and his squad.Out of action with a knee injury since January 2, Iredale opened the Trotters’ goalscoring account after four minutes; his first since netting for previous club Cambridge 22 months ago.The versatile Australian’s header came...Full Story »

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins praised the finishing of hat-trick hero Devante Cole after Port Vale were thumped 7-0 in his first game in charge.Liam Kitching, Jon Russell and debutant Andrew Dallas also got on the scoresheet, with Vale defender Dan Jones turning into his own net before the break.Collins said: “The way he took his goals were clinical. For me Devante scored them when we ...Full Story »

Nigel Clough was pleased with Mansfield’s reaction to being reduced to 10 men in their 2-2 draw at Crewe and felt his side deserved to come away with a victory.Defender Calum MacDonald received what Clough thought was a “very harsh” straight red card for a challenge on Chris Long just before the hour mark, which halted the Stags in their stride after they commanded a two-goal l...Full Story »

Kidderminster earned a point at home to Woking in their first Vanarama National League match since 2016.Harriers won promotion last season in remarkable fashion following a run of nine successive wins and they marked their return to the higher level with a creditable goalless draw against a Woking side that finished fourth last term.The best chances of the first half at Aggborough came towards t...Full Story »

Southend put their off-field issues aside as they battled to a surprising 4-0 victory over 10-man Oldham.Shrimpers boss Kevin Maher was only able to register 15 players for their Vanarama National League opener due to a transfer embargo that has been in place since September due to money owed to HMRC.But they got off to a flying start when Callum Powell managed to squirm an effort in after Oldha...Full Story »

Barrow boss Pete Wild was full of praise for debutant Kian Spence after his stunning strike secured all three points from a 2-1 victory over Tranmere at Prenton Park.On a rain-soaked afternoon on Merseyside both teams played their part in a fascinating encounter which saw plenty of goalmouth action at both ends.Tranmere looked more threatening in the opening minutes as Josh Hawkes forced Barrow ...Full Story »

Lorent Tolaj scored a brace as Aldershot denied Oxford City a winning start to life in the National League with a comprehensive 5-2 opening-day victory at the EBB Stadium.Jack Barham broke the deadlock after 13 minutes from close range before Josh Parker equalised midway through the first half.The Shots re-took the lead through Haji Mnoga following a corner just after the half-hour mark before T...Full Story »

Gary Rowett is happy for Millwall to continue flying under the radar in their quest for a Championship play-off spot after starting the season with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.Romain Esse’s 79th-minute strike secured victory at the Riverside for the Lions, who missed out on a top-six place on the final day of last term after their capitulation in a home defeat to Blackburn.The Lions have ...Full Story »

Gillingham boss Neil Harris was delighted for his team’s travelling army of fans after substitute Robbie McKenzie’s late goal sealed a 1-0 opening day victory at Stockport.McKenzie pounced with just four minutes left of a clash between two of League Two’s most fancied sides for promotion.The late strike sent the Gills’ 800-strong away support wild ahead of a lengthy trip ...Full Story »

Matt Bloomfield admits his Wycombe players suffered a significant “reality check” after weeks of pre-season work went up in smoke against Exeter.Two goals in the first five minutes fired Gary Caldwell’s red-hot Grecians to a comfortable 3-0 opening day victory as Jack Aitchison, captain Will Aimson and James Scott all netted at Adams Park.Bloomfield says that left his players &...Full Story »